The new Tiarella cordifolia was selected during 2007 as a seedling from the garden at the Nursery of Sinclair A. Adam Jr. at Coatesville, Pa., U.S.A. The exact parentage of the new variety is unknown. It resulted from seedlings grown from open-pollinated plants of Tiarella cordifolia, and Tiarella cordifolia var. collina. Several hundred plants are grown for seed production, and some or all of these plants are likely included in the parentage of the new variety of the present invention.
The new variety has been carefully preserved and studied since the time of its discovery. Had such new variety not been discovered and preserved, it would have been lost to mankind.
It was found that the new Tiarella cordifolia, variety of the present invention exhibits the following combination of characteristics: (a) exhibits a compact mounding clump growth habit with substantial runners, (b) forms attractive white flowers on branched flower stalks, (c) forms lobed ovate green leaves having a matte finish during the summer that bear maroon markings along the leaf veins maroon and in the center, and this pigment expands in the late summer. In fall the leaves turn darker red of variable intensity during the fall, and (d) is particularly well suited for growing as a distinctive ornamental ground cover, creating a dense stand in a season.
The new variety of the present invention can be readily distinguished from other previously known varieties of the species in view of the distinctive combination of characteristics discussed herein. The red, and green spring, summer, and fall color is considered to be particularly noteworthy.
The new variety ‘Lehigh’ can be compared to ‘Elizabeth Oliver’ (not patented), which differs from ‘Lehigh’ in having shorter runners, light pink flowers, and foliage that is more heavily suffused with maroon. ‘Lehigh’ can also be compared to cultivars from the same breeding program, ‘Octoraro’ (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/589,995), ‘Delaware’ (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/589.997), and ‘Susquehanna’ (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/589,996). ‘Octoraro’ differs from ‘Lehigh’ in having larger white flowers, foliage that in spring has maroon markings that are localized primarily on the veins, and in having foliage that turns golden yellow with red veins in the fall. ‘Delaware’ differs from ‘Lehigh’ in having more red colored runners. ‘Susquehanna’ differs from ‘Lehigh’ in having foliage that turns dark red with green margins in fall.
The new variety well meets the needs of the horticultural industry and expands the choices of ornamental ground covers which fills in as a stand well. It performs well wherever a ground cover is desired, and is particularly well suited for use as a border planting, use in shaded areas, and for ecology and restoration casting open pollinated seedlings, and asexual runners.
The runners (stolons) and flower stems of clumps have been used to asexually propagate the new variety at Delhi, N.Y. (laboratory), and Coatesville, (breeder and Nursery) Pa., U.S.A. It has been found that the distinctive combination of characteristics of the new variety is firmly fixed and is reliably transmitted to succeeding generations. During observations to date, the new variety has been found to be readily amenable to such propagation.